Forever
by Airess Byrd
Summary: Nina Winlan reflects on her past journeys that she went on with the eight heroes to defeat the Emperor Zog with a certain person. And contrary to popular belief and what the title says, this story will not go on 'forever' ;


Standard disclaimer: _Breath of Fire,_ Airess do not own. Speak like the Yoda, I do

AN: This is a one shot fanfic from BoF I, narrated by everyone's favorite, annoying winged princess, Nina. It's her musings about some of the adventures she went on with a certain person. It also has a surprise ending, BTW. It's been forever since I played one, so some of the facts may be off... though not by much. The last names of the chars are their first names from the Japanese version. And the names of the Japanese version came from Mary's Breath of Fire Translation's Site. Oh, and try to figure out who Nina's talking to. There's a lot more about that then I am telling you, but that's why you read the story, right?

So tell me... how did it ever come to this? What would have happened to me... to us if you had never came? Ha, I know... we'd all either be dead or under the Dark Dragon Emperor Zog's control. Damn him for his freaking conquest! If it wasn't for that, you'd never had to go on your quest. But in retrospect, if you never had to go on your quest, all of use would never have come together. Fate's funny, huh?

I remember when this all started... at least, when I joined you in your quest. I must admit, you were the funniest person I had ever seen. Not too many people you see around here with blue hair, right? You came to Winlan to get permission to cross over the Bridge to the Eastern lands. But my father, the King was sick because of a letter that had been poisoned. The servant came to me and told me what you wanted... I couldn't let the country of Winlan, let alone a foreigner know that the King was ill... that would give the Dark Dragon armies the thing they needed to attack our country. So I told the servant to tell you that the king was not available at the time. She asked you if you would rest in one of our guestrooms and you seemed to gladly accept it.

Later that night, I had to go find the remedy that would cure my dying father. I told the guards and servants where I was going and went to my room to gather my equipment. I had always been fond of sword fighting and favored the rapier as my weapon of choice. Eh heh, but I was much better at what was termed as curative magic. My strength came from the fact that I could heal myself in the heat of battle where most others would have to surrender or force a retreat because of their wounds. When I had gathered my things, I quickly bolted down the stairs, ready to begin (as I had since dubbed it) my brave, honorable, and noble quest to save Winlan and its king! You laugh to this very day every time I use that term, remember?

Well, just as I was entering the main lobby, I heard something coming from the guestrooms. How vain was I then? How blind was I then... to see that you were in so much pain... and I couldn't see it? I don't think I really cared then. I was so young at the beginning of this quest. Thirteen right? It feels like an eternity ago... anyway, I sneaked over to the guestroom where the noise was coming from. I quietly opened the door and cautiously walked in. You were asleep in the bed, tangled up in the sheets. You kept tossing about as if having a really bad dream, muttering in your sleep. Out of curiosity, I guess, I slowly walked up to the bed so I could hear what you were saying. I will always hate to admit this, especially to you, but when I saw you, the first time I got a real good look at you, I thought you were the cutest guy I had ever seen. I guess I blushed and leaned in to get a closer look, then I heard what you were muttering in your sleep. One word escaped your lips: Sara. I immediately jerked back, my white wings twitching wildly. I didn't know it then, but I was jealous of this "Sara" girl. My first thought was that maybe she was your girlfriend or something.

Well, that was fine! I had more important things to do other than hang around some stranger's room and watch him while he slept and talked about his girlfriend in his sleep. Not quietly, I stomped out of the room and slammed the door. While I was stomping, I could have sworn that I saw your ears perk up. You later told me that those of the Dragon Clan have heightened senses... I really wished someone had told me that sooner!!! Anyway, I go marching out of the castle and out of the sleeping city. I journey to a cave where I am met up with two really loyal and dedicated Winlan soldiers. I allow them to accompany along my journey. The trek took us past Romero and right to the haunted Karma Tower. The soldiers and I fought our way through the many demons and floors of the tower. At the top, there were these girls that begged us to let them go. They said that a wizard that went by the name of Karma was using them as experiments. We let them out and proceed into the heart of the tower to get the medicine. What we didn't know was that the ENTIRE room was filled with Xeon gas. That particular gas is lethal to members of the Wing Clan. That was just great. The only one who had the potion was Karma and we had to fight him to get it. But the gas was making us weaker and weaker by the minute. I then got the brilliant idea to get one of the soldiers to go fly for help. He fled while me and the other soldier fought for our very lives. The ass was going to kill the remaining soldier and use me in his harebrained experiments.

Karma hit us with a huge lightening bolt and then I blacked out. When I came to, you were standing over me, the remedy in hand. You smiled and asked me if I was alright. I think I said yeah and tried to stand up. I promptly fell, but you caught me and lifted me up in your strong arms. Too weak to argue, I allowed you to carry me up the stairs. I asked you why the gas didn't affect you, and you told me that you were a member of the Light Dragon Clan. You then told me that your name was Ryu. I think I just nodded and something incoherent and buried my face in your shoulder. For the first time in a long time since my mother had died, I felt safe. It was weird... here you were, someone that I didn't even know, and I felt safe with you. I have no idea what the heck was running through my head. Maybe it was the fact that you had just saved me. Or maybe... When we got to the top of the stairs and away from the gas, I remembered my father and jumped out of your arms and ran over to the other soldiers who had brought you here.

We all journeyed back to the castle and I ran to my father's room and gave the doctor the remedy. He gave it to my father and soon, my father was his cheerful self again. After he was back on the throne, he asked you if there was anything you wanted. All you said was that you wanted permission to cross the bridge into the eastern lands. My father seemed surprised, but allowed it. I think I piped up and said I wanted to go to. You nearly fell over from surprise. I told everyone that I wanted to stop Zog and help you bring peace to the world. I said that you would need a healer to accompany you. I think for the longest time, that was what I tried to convince myself, too. But the truth was, I think I had begun to fall in love with you and just wanted to be with you... Father seemed concerned, but allowed the gesture. You seemed like you were at a lose for words. So, wordlessly, you bowed to my father and walked out of the throne room, with me in tow.

After we geared up and reached the city gates, you let out a sigh of disbelief. You then turned to me and asked me once more was I sure about doing this, that it was going to be dangerous from here on out and you may not be able to protect me in a battle. I just told you that I was not a child and I could take care of myself. You sighed again and just kept on walking. I sighed, annoyed that you didn't say anything, but ran to keep up with you just the same. At first, it was pure annoyance... I guess. You were always so quiet and never talked much about anything. I once asked you why you were on this quest and you told me it was to save a loved one. You seemed reluctant to go into more detail, so I didn't push the matter. The battles were really bad. I could not fight all that well against actual monsters, but you were always there, protecting me and defending me. You were like my guardian angel... you never seemed to let harm come to me. I wanted to do _something _to repay you for your kindness... but there was nothing that I could do, princess or no. When we camped, you would always just stare at the fire and brood, I guess. That's why I always talked. I wanted you to be happy... to get your mind off of whatever was bothering you. You seemed like you were happy for the distraction, and you would just listen to me for what seemed like hours, smiling the entire time and nodding every once in awhile. You later told me that you thought that I never seemed to run out of energy. I had no idea what you were talking about... still don't... Hey! You don't think that I talk too much, do you?

The journey as just ourselves wasn't meant to last, however. Along the way we had many adventures trying to collect all the Goddess Keys and met many new and different allies... Bo Gilliam, a hunter of the Forest Clan. He was conducting guerilla attacks against the Dark Dragons. He joined us because we were opposing them. Then, we met Karn Danc, a master thief of the Nightrunners. He helped us get into the Tower of Darkness to get the Dark Key and the such. Then we met Gobi Manillo, a greedy merchant of the Manillo clan... the Dark Dragons had invaded Prima and we had to get there... but we needed Gobi's "help." He helped us alright... more like he helped himself to our purses... anyway, there we were introduced to Ox Vilder, a blacksmith from the Smith Clan, who we saved from the grim reaper... I kid you not! We also helped him save his village from the Dark Dragon armies. Then, we met Deis Bleu... or just Bleu, the great Sorceress... the most arrogant, self centered... ANYWAY, we needed her help to get rid of the armies that were bombing Prima. She helped all right... she stayed because she thought, "things would get interesting..." last, but not least, we met Mogu, a young warrior from the Dirt-eating Clan. He was trapped in a dream and we helped him get free again. Grateful, he joined us. I think it was the prospect of having friends and such that he was really wanting.

I remember when we went to go get the Time Key. We had just defeated Cerl and gotten the Time key. She had earlier messed with time in Tock, so we were trying to fix everything. I volunteered to work the machine, but when I did, a time warp opened up and I was thrown through time. Back in time to be more precise; about three or four years. I ended up on the island of Tunlan, where Cerl stole the Time Key in the first place. Well, naturally the knock caused me to lose my memory. Yeah, you heard me right. I ended up with amnesia for my wonderful stunt. Well, I lived there unaware of my past for the next few years. During that time, I became accustomed to the strange language that the Tunlans used, only able to understand them using a magical Cowl. An elderly couple that raised me took me in like I was their own daughter.

Everything was going fine, until the princess became smitten with the Dark Dragon Emperor Zog. For some reason, something kept nagging at me to remember. Well, it wasn't until an intrepid group of travelers came to Tunlan asking about something called a Bolster and the Time Key. They wanted to use the Bolster to help a friend of theirs and they were just curious about the Key. Two people in that group caught my eye. First was the group's leader, a young man with long blue hair. I felt like I had seen him somewhere before. The second was a young girl with blond hair and wings... who looked like a younger version of me. Then the young man spotted me and asked who I was. The couple said that I was a girl that fell from the sky and didn't know who I was. They felt and I felt empty inside... like I should go with them or something. The next few weeks were a nightmare. I have never felt so alone. But, then out of the blue, the same group of people showed up, but something was different. The girl was gone and in her place was a young mole. They talked to the couple about something involving me. They nodded and left, leaving me more confused. The couple would not tell me anything and told me to wait. Soon enough, they came back and had some sort of bottle with a drink in it. Heh, the young man (I mean you, sheesh...) came right up to me and told me to drink it. I didn't want to, but something in your eyes told me to. So I did. Suddenly, I remembered everything... my father, kingdom, you... I remembered that I was Princess Nina of Winlan. Karn asked me if I remembered them and I said yes. I got the biggest group hug ever by everyone. When we were getting ready to go to Scande, you came up to me and asked me how I was. I told you that I was fine and ready to fly. You seemed relieved that I was okay and left it at that.

Fighting Zog had to be one of the hardest things I was every done, sans fighting Tyr. In order to defeat Zog, we had to get a weapon called the Dragon Heart. A cloaked person (Jade) told us that the weapon exists in Tunlan. So, we headed back and talked to the natives again. It turns out that the weapon was actually a song that really hurt dragons, and in some cases, killed them. I tensed up upon hearing this. What would happen to you? Would you die? You didn't act like you were fazed, until the girl played the song on her flute. What came next was terrible. The rest of us thought it was a pretty song, but to you, it must have sounded horrible. You started to look uncomfortable, your face visibly twisted in pain. I glanced over to you just as you dropped to your knees, hands over your ears, screaming for the song just to end. The girl stopped playing as we ran over to you. You were bent over, shaking and covering your ears. I knelt down next to you and asked you if you were all right. You couldn't even make a sound. The look I saw in your eyes told me everything. You were terrified. Bleu then decided to pipe up and say that all you needed was some rest and you'd be fine in the morning. The confused girl gave us a bottle with the song trapped inside and wished us luck on our journey.

That night, all I could do was just stare at you while you slept, curled up tightly in a ball, still shaking. I wondered if using the song was really worth putting you through that again. We got lucky. The song only hurt you... you'd be fine in the morning. The next time... the song might kill you. The next morning, you were indeed fine and we all headed out to Scande. After busting up some soldiers, we finally got around to finding Zog's throne room. The emperor himself went into a huge tirade about how he and the Dark Dragons were going to rule over the rest of the clans and there was nothing we could do to stop him. Well, we started to fight, but we realized we were outmatched and outclassed. Zog had changed to his dragon form. You were the one who said to use the Dragon Heart. You then changed to your Rudra form and started to fight with the dragon emperor. I cringed as Bleu opened the bottle and that forsaken song filled the air. Zog roared and reverted back to his human form, sword drawn and ready to use. You, however, were not so lucky. You reverted too, but instantly fell to the floor face first, unconscious. Bleu told me to move my butt and get to you, that the rest would fight Zog.

I ran to you, praying to Ladon that you were still alive, while the others were making mince meat out of Zog. When I got to you, I turned you over. I panicked when I saw that you were not breathing. I franticly checked for a pulse, and actually did cry out when I didn't find one. Now, remember when I said that I was a curative magic expert? Well, I know this spell called _resurrection. _That was the first time that I used it, and it was not only dangerous for the user to use, but for the person it was being used on as well. But I didn't care. I wasn't about to let you die on me... I wasn't going to lose you after we came so far. I chanted the words to the spell and watched as a white light enveloped you. I prayed that you would respond... ANYTHING to let me know that you were alive. Nothing happened. Everyone came up to us after Zog had fallen, and just watched as I desperately tried the spell again. This time, however, you shot up into a sitting position and started coughing and gasping for air. I had never been so relieved in my entire life.

Zog gave us his farewell speech, telling you to build a new world where the Dragon Clan would rule over the other clans. Then he died. I didn't care what he said, all I did was cry. You reached over and held me in a tight embrace and told me that everything was going to be alright. I didn't even notice the others had moved away, until Bleu coughed to get our attention. We turned to her, both of us beet red. We got up and walked towards the exit. Before we joined the others, you turned back to me and placed you hands on my shoulders. You told me thank you for saving your life, then turned back to the exit and walked off. I thought it was a bit rude at the time, but later you told me that you were too embarrassed and didn't want me to see how red your face was.

Then, the stupid floor collapsed and we all fell. When we came too, we saw a young woman with blue hair, dressed in priestess robes. You ran up to her and gave her a really big hug. She said that her name was Sara. Great... just... great. Your girlfriend... But, then you introduced her as your SISTER. I, for one, was shocked... and relieved. She asked you to hand her the Goddess Keys and you complied. When she got them, she started to laugh and that cloaked man appeared. She handed the Keys to him and he revealed himself to be General Jade himself. You know, I always thought Jade had a girly name... but maybe that's just me. Anyway, we soon learned that Sara was under Jade's mind control. I watched as your face contorted in anger, your lips contorting into a snarl. You quickly drew your sword to hack Jade into pieces, but Sara moved in the way and you stopped dead in your tracks, your sword inches from Sara's throat. Jade laughed and told us how he was going to revive and free Tyr, the Goddess of Desire and Destruction. Then they both disappeared.

Fighting mad, you told us that we had to stop Jade, and if needed be, stop Sara as well, from freeing Tyr. So, we went to Augia, the floating fortress where Tyr was imprisoned. We went to the keep and entered. There, we found Sara. But she was not about to let us in. She struck us with a powerful spell, and knocked us all back, hurting us in the process. She then looked really concerned and worried, telling us that she sometimes had control and now was one of those times. She told you to stop her before she hurt us. You told her that you would not raise your sword against her, but then the spell took hold again, and she morphed into her dragon form. You told us that this was a fight between you and her, and then morphed into your Rudra form. You and Sara clashed with each other, evenly matched, until you found an opening, and launched. The next thing any of us knew, Sara and you had reverted and your sword was impaled into Sara's chest. You withdrew the blade, your hands stained with her blood and your face stained with your tears. My heart broke as you cried. Sara pulled you close to her and told you that you did the right thing. She then told you to stop Jade from releasing Tyr. Then she died. You wiped your eyes and took your sword. Wordlessly, you ascended the stairs, most likely to kill Jade. We faced the mad man and he told us that he had already released Tyr and that it was too late. He used a Warp spell and got away, just as the tower began to collapse.

The next thing I knew, we were all lying on the ground outside the city walls of Drogen. Everyone started to come to, albeit a bit dizzy and confused. You, however, didn't even move. I freaked, thinking that you were dead, but Bleu stopped me from running over to you. The elder of Drogen came out and helped us take you into the village. He told us that Sara came to him in a dream and told him to take care of you. He then went outside and saw all of us out there... and you unconscious. He and Bleu concluded that you must be suffering from some kind of emotional trauma and that's why you were not awake. The fact that you had a fever didn't help matters either. Once more, I was thankful that I was a curative magic expert and was able to break your fever, but you still didn't wake up. Nonetheless, I stayed with you for the three days you were unconscious, while you tossed around and cried out in your sleep. Sometimes I thought I heard you call out for your parents and for Sara, and other's I thought I heard you call out for just anyone to be with you... so you would not have to be alone anymore. I held your hand the entire time while you were in your coma and talked to you. I pleaded with you to wake up, to do anything, just to let me know that you were still there. I don't know why I did it, but I started to talk to you about anything and everything... I guess it was my way of trying to keep you anchored to this world. I talked about my life before I met you... I talked about our journey... I told you how happy I was that you were in my life and I did not want to lose you. Then, I told you something that to this day still embarrasses me. I told you that I loved you. Upon saying that, I left your grip tighten in my hand... and I knew you would be all right. Sure enough, the next day you woke up.

When you were well enough, we had a brief meeting about what we were going to do. We decided right then and there to go stop Jade. We went to Tyr's keep and fought the last of Jade's henchmen. We then fought Jade. After defeating him, we confronted Tyr. Much to everyone's surprise, she was a little girl. We got into a fight with her and she cried and asked us why we were picking on her. We stopped fighting. She asked us if we wanted to be her friend. You said yes, but then Sara's spirit appeared to us and told us that this was just a ruse. She told you to use the power of Agni to reveal the true form of the Goddess. Tyr then got into another fight with us and we all merged together to form the ultimate dragon. She did reveal her true form... a really ugly monster. After fighting her for what seemed like forever, we beat her. She vowed that it wasn't over and then disappeared. The tower began to collapse, but the Winlan army was there to save us this time. On the backs of the Great Birds, we flew to Drogen. There, Sara told us good work and to make the world a peaceful place once again. She said that she had to go and you begged her not to... she said that she was proud of you, and then vanished. We then all said goodbye to each other, with every intent on seeing each other again.

I can only smile as I realize that I am eating my words... as I stand here now, several years later, in front of my father and the entire kingdom of Winlan, I see all of my friends and allies smiling at me. And I see you standing before me, smiling with me as we both stand before the priest, hand in hand, saying our wedding vows. We had come so far, and now we will go even further than ever before. I could think of no one more loving and kind that I would want to spend the rest of my life with than you. Ryu, I love you with all my heart and all my soul. Even though times change and we change with them, the one thing that will remain constant is our love for each other. And with that, I will spend the rest of my life with you. And I will love you forever.


End file.
